Capital city auction markets remain resilient despite modest decline in clearance rates
Auction activity across Australia’s capital cities remained stable last week, with 1,584 homes going under the hammer – almost unchanged from the previous week but down 16.2% compared to the same period last year.
Preliminary data from Cotality indicates that the combined capital city clearance rate slipped to 71.7%, a decrease from 72.3% the week before. This marks the second consecutive week of easing after reaching a 12-month high of 74.7% at the end of July. Despite the recent dip, clearance rates have stayed above 70% for nine straight weeks.
Melbourne recorded 742 auctions, a slight increase from 730 the week prior. The city’s preliminary clearance rate was 70.9%, the lowest in four weeks but still extending its streak of results above 70% to 15 weeks.
Sydney saw 559 homes auctioned, a 2.1% drop from the previous week. Of the 443 results reported so far, 74.3% were successful, down from 74.9% previously. The city has now posted early clearance rates above 70% for nine weeks in a row.
Among the smaller capitals, Brisbane led with 127 auctions, nearly matching the previous week’s total. The city’s preliminary clearance rate fell to 67.0%, its lowest in four weeks. Adelaide hosted 92 auctions, with a 70.3% clearance rate – the highest in three weeks.
The ACT reported a clearance rate of 75.6% from 56 auctions, its strongest result since June 2024. In Perth, eight homes went to auction, with one of five reported results returning a sale. No auctions were recorded in Tasmania for the third consecutive week.
Looking ahead, auction volumes are expected to increase, with about 1,940 homes scheduled for auction this week and more than 2,000 the following week.
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